SPOILER: Joey Fatone is gay new ‘Greek Wedding’ sequel

Joey Fatone attends the AOL Build Speaker Series to discuss ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2’ at AOL Studios In New York on March 14, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jenny Anderson/FilmMagic)

Pop star-turned-actor JOEY FATONE was thrilled to learn his character in the MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING sequel is gay.

The former ‘N SYNC star played Angelo in the first film back in 2002 and he feared his character had been killed off in the upcoming follow-up when castmates asked him what he thought about his story line before he had read the script.

“The actress who plays my sister Nikki (Gia Carides) asked me if I read the script yet, and I was like, ‘No, do I die?’” the Bye Bye Bye singer told WENN.

Then he read Nia Vardalos’ script and realised Angelo was gay in the sequel.

“It was quite an honor for Nia to give me something like that, because not many people see the non-comedy side of me and to have to deliver something like that – telling your parents you are gay – it’s a tough thing,” he added.

“It was an exciting thing to do and it’s from life experience – one of my best friends, him coming out… It’s a hard situation because you don’t know what your parents are gonna say or do and you don’t want to be rejected. So how do you deal with that?”

Vardalos, who reprises her character Toula in the new film, reveals she added a gay story line to honor friends who have ‘come out’ since the first film.

“Our gay and lesbian brethren and sisters are 10 per cent, if not more, of the population,” she explained to WENN. “When my cousins came out, the love that came at them was so intense and unconditional that I thought, ‘This is my chance to put a little message in of acceptance’. It’s a way of showing my family is your family, isn’t it time that we just have a moment that is treated with a shrug and a smile?”

Nia admits she was thrilled when Joey was “completely on board” for playing a gay character, adding his ‘coming out’ was “such a lovely thing to shoot that day.”